Hiring entertainment is an exciting element of planning a successful event. With the right planning in place, finding the right act to capture your audience can make a memorable event.
Planning for entertainment goes beyond just booking them to turn up, and the amount of work it takes can often be overlooked by organisers, as well as some of the risks that are involved. It’s easy to see why. How do you know where to start? What represents value for money? Can’t you just stick a playlist on? What if the band don’t turn up?
We explore of few essential steps to take when organising a performer or key person for your event!
Find the right entertainment for your event
Before you start to look for that special performer, or engaging speaker, you need to think about what you want to achieve with your entertainment. Is it to get people dancing, get people thinking, or entice people to your event? We will need to work out what is best for your venue, your attendees and the aims of your event
Different types of entertainment lend themselves to different events. A marching band might not go down too well at a dance festival for example, but could be a at great way to entertain people at a street party.
Think about your audience and what they would like
It is important to consider who will be attending your event – how old are they, what would their interests be, why would they be coming to your event? It needs to tie in with the objectives for the event, as well as the events style and image.
A solid choice for most evening events is a live band. Professional event bands are experienced in catering to diverse crowds, and no matter their genre specialisation, the best bands will always be able to adjust their set to cater for any audience.
Working with Entertainment Agencies
Keeping those stress levels down when planning event is vital and the key to this is communication. To clear some space in your head, finding someone to work with to hire entertainment could be the right move. Finding a reputable an experienced entertainment agency could be a simple way to take away some of the pain of hiring a professional for your event. Finding an experienced agency who could help you to find entertainment that is right for your event. From surprise wedding proposals to international conferences, or festivals, an agency can open up the door to finding the right entertainment for your event.
Do your research on the performer
You find the act that you know will take your event to the next level, but they have gone quiet, they begin to ask for extra things you had not budgeted for, or they just begin to make your planning more difficult.
You’ll want to work with performers you know you can trust to arrive on time, act professionally before and after the event (even the hard rock band you’ve booked should be pleasant to deal with when not on stage). But ideally finding someone who’ll go beyond simply turning up and strumming a few chords will make the planning much more pleasurable. But it is also important to get a contract in place with some terms and conditions you can both agree on so you know your booking is safe and secure.
Getting Non-Appearance Insurance Cover for Key People for your Event
Non-appearance coverage is important when the success of an event or tour depends upon performers, public figures, keynote speakers etc.
Policies are designed to cover costs, expenses and revenues when an event is cancelled, abandoned, postponed, interrupted, or relocated when a specified person or people cannot appear at the event. When non-appearance of key people is a ‘deal-breaker’ for the attendees, meaning the show can’t go on, having the insurance in place can provide some much-needed protection for organisers.
What type of events is Non-Appearance Insurance suitable for?
Promoters, artists, ticket agents, key speakers and event organisers with a stake in any event where the appearance of an individual or group of individuals is key to its successful completion, including:
- Rock and pop tours
- Classical concerts
- Festivals
- Comedy shows
- Theatrical productions
- Conferences
- Exhibitions
Preparing for your Insurance
High Flying Acts and Risk Assessments
If you have hired, for example, an acrobatic act it is well worth completing and reviewing a comprehensive risk assessment with the act. The entertainment act that you hire can certainly affect the risk involved If potential risk factors have been considered ahead of your event, it allows time for precautions to be taken to reduce the likelihood something occurring. Carrying out a thorough approach to risk management and the assessment of your acts and considering the main potential threats ensures you meet your insurance parameters.
Plan Ahead with Travel!
We all know that travel can be extremely unpredictable, with flight delays not uncommon, the ever risk of road traffic, but having some plans in place can make things run much more smoothly should something go wrong.
For example, when your key person/s are traveling by air to the event, organisers should ensure that they travel as a passenger by a regular airline or multi-engine charter aircraft on a regular air route, unless otherwise agreed by us. It is important to ensure your key person/s transport is booked with a reputable and regular airline, but also to always try to have contingency plans in place should there be any delays or cancellations, such as note of different flight times.
Our dedicated team of underwriters work closely with all customers, taking the time to advise on risk assessment and can assist in designing an insurance policy that provides the right level of cover for your event. Non-Appearance Insurance provides cover if the performer is unable to fulfil their obligations which in turn leads to the event being cancelled, abandoned, postponed, interrupted or relocated. Click here to find out more about Non Appearance Insurance Cover for events.